Biography:Charles Willauer Kutz

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Short description: American brigadier general
Charles Willauer Kutz
KUTZ, C.W. GENERAL LCCN2016856406.jpg
Born(1870-10-14)October 14, 1870
Reading, Pennsylvania, US
DiedJanuary 25, 1951(1951-01-25) (aged 80)
Washington, DC, US
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States
BranchArmy
Years of service1889-1929
RankBrigadier general
Unit13th Engineer Railway Regiment
Commands held3rd Engineers
Battles/wars
AwardsCroix de Guerre with Palm
Officer of the Legion of Honour
MemorialsKutz Memorial Bridge
Alma materUnited States Military Academy
United States Army Engineer School
Engineering Commissioner of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.
In office
May 20, 1941 – September 25, 1945
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byLt. Col. David McCoach, Jr
Succeeded byBrig. Gen. Gordon R. Young
Engineering Commissioner of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.
In office
December 18, 1918 – October 6, 1921
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byBrig. Gen. John George David Knight
Succeeded byCol. Charles Keller
Acting President of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.
In office
September 17, 1920 – September 25, 1920
PresidentHerbert Hoover
Preceded byLouis Brownlow
Succeeded byJohn Thilman Hendrick
Engineering Commissioner of the Board of Commissioners of Washington, D.C.
In office
October 31, 1914 – July 16, 1917
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byLt. Col. Chester Harding
Succeeded byBrig. Gen. John George David Knight
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Randolph Keim
ChildrenEmily Randolph Kutz Bingham, Marian Elizabeth Kutz Ross, Charles Randolph Kutz

Charles Willauer Kutz (October 14, 1870, in Reading, Pennsylvania – January 25, 1951, in Washington, D.C.) was an American brigadier general in the Army Corps of Engineers and the longest serving District of Columbia Engineer Commissioner in the history of the position. In 1920 he served as acting president of the board of commissioners, the chief executive position in the district, for one week – he was the only engineer commissioner to do so. For 12 days in March of 1921, he was the only commissioner on the board, and its de facto leader.

Early life and education

Charles Kutz was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on October 14, 1870. His father Allen Kutz had been a first lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil War and had fought at Antietam. His father died when he was only two years old, and Kutz had to get through school while working at a local bank from the age of 10. He was able to get into West Point via a competitive examination.

Military and political career

In June 1889, he enrolled at the United States Military Academy and graduated number two of fifty-one in the class of 1893.[1] He was commissioned additional second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and then went to the Engineer School of Application at the Fort at Willets Point for the special course in engineering, graduating in 1896.

Kutz rose in the ranks from lieutenant to major. He was stationed at various locations throughout the United States, including Baltimore, MD; Portland, ME; Washington, DC and Seattle, WA. Main tasks were, among other things, the maintenance of the waterways and ports, and the construction of military facilities. Between 1911 and 1914, he was stationed in the Philippines .[1] From 1906 to 1908 he was an instructor at West Point.

In 1914, Kutz became the military civil engineer member of the three-person board of commissioners that governed the city of Washington. He concurrently became chairman of the newly formed Public Utilities Commission. In 1917, shortly after being promoted to colonel, he was ordered to France for duty with the American Expeditionary Force in the First World War. After arriving in France he became assistant to the chief engineer of the 13th Engineer Railway Regiment. He was promoted to brigadier general, National Army, in June 1918 and assigned as assistant chief of staff, Services of Supply. In July he left France and took command of Camp Humphries, the main training ground for officers of the engineering corps. In October of 1918 he was again appointed the engineer commissioner of the District of Columbia Board of Commissioners, and served until 1921. In 1920, he served as its acting chairman for a week.[2][3][4][1] His biggest contribution during his second term was as the first chairman of the District Zoning Commission, that was created in 1920. He was responsible for the zoning of the district into use, area and heights districts.[5]>

After leaving the board of commissioners, he was division engineer, Central Division, at Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1921 to 1928, and from 1928 to 1929, he was department engineer of the Hawaiian Department, and commanding officer of the 3rd Engineers. He retired as a colonel in 1929. His rank was restored in June 1930.[1][6]

In 1941, he was called out of retirement and again made engineering commissioner of the District of Columbia by President Roosevelt.

After his retirement he became a consulting engineer to the Sanitary District of Chicago and to the Minister of Works of Venezuela for the Maracaibo Bar Commission on the matter of providing a stable and ample deep water entrance to the oil port of Maracaibo.

Kutz was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Army and Navy Club.[6]

Personal life

Kutz married Elizabeth Randolph Keim on June 25, 1895.[1][6] He had three children, Emily Randolph Bingham; Marian Elizabeth Ross, whose husband Lewis Tenney Ross, was also a general; and Colonel Charles Randolph Kutz, who served in Washington in the Army General Staff. He had five grandchildren including First Lieut. Tenney Kutz Ross, who was killed in action in Korea in November 1950.

Death and legacy

He died on January 25, 1951, at St. Elizabets in Washington and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1954, the Independence Avenue bridge over the Tidal Basin was renamed the Kutz Bridge in his honor.[3][7]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, Inc.. p. 221. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 231779136. 
  2. "Chief Executives of Washington, D.C.". https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1510.html. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Kurtzenacker to Kytle". http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/kurvink-kyros.html. 
  4. https://dcpsc.org/getmedia/6537ac1e-e08a-46f1-bf69-33d908c7075d/DCPU_Chairman_Commissioners1913_2013.aspx [bare URL PDF]
  5. "DCPU Chairman Commissioners 1913 to 2013". https://dcpsc.org/getmedia/8d735471-23fc-48ab-960f-b64097f30233/DCPU_Chairman_Commissioners1913_2013.aspx. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Marquis Who's Who, Inc. Who Was Who in American History, the Military. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 314  ISBN:0837932017 OCLC 657162692
  7. "[Chapter News]". Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine 104: 446. 1970.